Osama Al Sharif -- an Amman-based commentator and syndicated columnist -- says the economic crunch is merging with evermore strident demands for political change, now led by the Muslim Brotherhood. But the sometimes violent protests in Amman and elsewhere this week have also included young men from poor areas, and for the first time a refrain from protests elsewhere in the Arab world -- "The People Want the Downfall of the Regime" -- has been heard.

The street protests this week have underlined a growing divide between older tribal leaders and a younger generation that's "on a totally different bandwidth," Al Sharif says.